AACR International

Joint Conference and Workshops

The AACR worked with cancer research organizations around the world to produce the following joint conferences, educational workshops, and symposia in 2022:

• ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM ON GLOBAL CANCER RESEARCH
  March 23–24; Virtual
  The 10th edition of this symposium was held as a satellite meeting to the 13th annual conference of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health. The AACR organized the meeting in collaboration with the U.S. NCI Center for Global Health (CGH), the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, Partners in Hope Malawi, the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, Fundación Instituto Leloir-CONICET, and the Republic of Zambia Ministry of Health.

The theme of the symposium was “New Models for Global Cancer Research, Training, and Control.” Over the course of two days, the organizers and attendees identified more effective ways to foster collaboration and the exchange of information among the global research community; developed strategic priorities for advancing the field of global oncology; and showcased initiatives that are reducing the burden of cancer in low resource settings.

• SEVENTH JCA-AACR SPECIAL JOINT CONFERENCE ON THE LATEST ADVANCES IN PANCREATIC CANCER RESEARCH: FROM BASIC SCIENCE TO THERAPEUTICS
  July 8–10, 2022; Kyoto, Japan
  The AACR partnered with the Japanese Cancer Association (JCA) to present the seventh edition of this vital conference, which was developed by Organizing Committee members Kohei Miyazono, PhD, Masanobu Oshima, PhD, and Hiroshi Seno, MD, PhD, of the JCA and Elizabeth M. Jaffee, MD, FAACR, Anirban Maitra, MBBS, and Rosalie C. Sears, PhD, of the AACR. The conference brought together basic scientists and clinical researchers from the United States, Japan, and around the world to share the latest developments in pancreatic cancer research.

• EORTC-NCI-AACR MOLECULAR TARGETS AND CANCER THERAPEUTICS SYMPOSIUM
  October 26–28, 2022; Barcelona, Spain
  Ruth Plummer, MBE, FMedSci, James L. Gulley, MD, PhD, and Lillian L. Siu, MD, chaired the 34th edition of this vital symposium, which is organized jointly by the European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC), the NCI, and the AACR. Widely considered to be the premier drug development and translational research meeting, the symposium focused on preclinical and phase I studies and showcased the latest cutting-edge discoveries in molecular biology.

• AACR-KCA JOINT WORKSHOP ON PRECISION MEDICINE
  November 10–11, 2022; Seoul, Korea
  The third joint conference presented by the AACR and the Korean Cancer Association (KCA) was chaired by Nilofer S. Azad, MD, and Tae Min Kim, MD, PhD. The program addressed critical topics in precision medicine, including proteogenomics, preclinical models, immuno-oncology, targeting the RAS pathway, and novel discoveries in drug screening. A highlight of the conference was the presentation of the Waun Ki Hong Memorial Lecture, named in honor of AACR Fellow and Past President Waun Ki Hong, MD, FAACR. Peter J. Park, PhD (right), delivered the lecture, titled "Searching for Somatic Mutations—One Cell at a Time."

• AACR Global Scholar in Training Award (GSITA). The AACR GSITA program was designed to support attendance at the AACR Annual Meeting of meritorious early-career scientists from countries that are building cancer research capacities. The 2022 scholars, who were selected through a rigorous peer-review process, represented Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, China, India, Jordan, Nigeria, Peru, and Serbia.
• Frontiers in Cancer Science (FCS) Poster Prizes. During the FCS conference held in Singapore, the AACR presented travel awards of up to $2,500 to two meritorious international poster presenters so that these investigators could attend the AACR Annual Meeting 2023 in Orlando, Florida to present their work.
• Beginning Investigator Grants for Catalytic Research (BIG Cat). Originally founded in 2010 by the NCI CGH in partnership with the African Organisation for Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC), the BIG Cat program supports two-year cancer research projects conducted by early-career investigators in Africa in order to expand and develop the cancer workforce on the continent. In 2022, the AACR launched a new partnership with NCI CGH and AORTIC to administer these grants. The new AACR-administered grants—which were made possible through the support of Takeda Oncology—will provide up to $55,000 over two years to support African investigators.
• Maximizing Opportunity for New Advancements in Research in Cancer (MONARCA) Grants. Launched in 2022, the AACR MONARCA Grants support an AACR initiative to alleviate the public health burden of cancer in Latin America by developing a pipeline of talented investigators in the region. The grants provide $55,000 over two years to early-career cancer scientists who are citizens of and are residing in Latin American countries and support research relevant to the cancer burden in Latin America.